Aeration apparatus



March 2.1, 1939. Lgc 2,151,126

AERATION APPARATUS Filed July 24, 1936 INVENTOR BY 6 ,QZMMW ATTORNE Patented Mar. 21, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,151,126 A summon APPARATUS Application July 24, 1938, Serial No. 92,354 In Great Britain August 23, 1935 6 Claim. (01. 261-93) This invention relates to an apparatus for contacting gaseous and liquid materials, especially for the aeration of liquids or dispersion of gases or vapors in liquids, and more particularly to fermenters used in'the manufacture of yeast on the aeration principle.

A general object of the invention is to provide an apparatus whereby gases and liquids may be contacted, which is economical of manufacture,

simple yet durable and sturdy of construction;

and easy to clean and to operate.

Specific objects of the invention areto provide an apparatus which is'capableofdispersing large volumes of air or other gasiform fluid in a liquid,.

create vigorous turbulence without requiring a large expenditure of power and which provides an aeration chamber which preferably is so shaped that notwithstanding'the differences of hydrostatic pressure. due to different depths of submergence of different zones of the chamber the air or gas is'ejected emciently and uniformly at the diflerent zones.

Qther objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features ofconstruction, combination, of elements, and arrangement of parts, which will be exemplifled in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indiso cated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to, the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which 5 lfig. 1 is a sectional elevational view illustrating 3 a preferred form of the invention.

Generally, the present invention comprises an aerating apparatus having a perforated or equivlalent multiple gapped chamber rotatable in a g submerged position within a suitable receptacle,.

as a fermenting vat or similar reaction vessel. A passage or group of passages leading to the 4 space above the submerging liquid is provided so -that.when the chamber is rotated and the liquid therein is ejected through the perforations or gap's by centrifugal force the air or gas above the liquid will be induced to flow down the passage or passages and be similarly ejected. In order to insure that'the liquid surrounding the sub- 60 merged chamber shall not rotate quietly with it, and to prevent formation of a vertical cavity around said chamber, any suitable independent agitating means may be provided, or the vat or other liquid container may be shaped to'hinder smooth circular motion of the liquid.

-Referring more particularly to Fig. 1 of the drawing, there is shown asubmerged chamber III which consists of an upwardly tapering cone of perforated metal having a perforated cylindrical neck I I reaching up beyond the'surface of a liquid 5 mass I! in a vat [3 containing the liquid to be aerated. A vertical stem or central spindle ll carrying a gear wheel or pulley l5 enables the chamber with protruding neck to be rotated at any desired speed. As the liquid is initially flung 10 out through the perforations it it becomes replaced by air which in turn is whirled and flung/- out and projected into the external surrounding liquid mass. Even if the perforations are relatively coarse as is preferably for cleaning pur- 15 poses, the air streams become finely dispersed in the surrounding liquid owing to the nature of the Y discharge. and moreover the liquid is violently agitated, especially if the rotation of the mass is impeded as, for example, by a series of baffles 20 i8 vertically supported by an upper and lower framework l1, l1, fitting against the internal wall of the reaction vessel. The spindle i4 carrying the rotatable chamber it is journalled in this framework as at l9 and 20. 25

Owing to the shape of the chamber a film-like pad of issuing air is formed on the outside of the submerged portion. .Thereby friction with the surrounding liquid is substantially eliminated and the power required to rotate the chamber is correspondingly reduced.

As it is desirable, for some purposes, to purify the alt entering the submerged chamber or to interpreted as illustrative andfnot in a limiting sense. I i

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1'. An apparatus for contacting a gasiform fluid with a liquid comprising in combination a reaction vessel containing a reaction mass, bailles to aid in agitating said mass anda partially submerged rotatable chamber having a film-forming upwardly converging frusto-conical portion positioned in said vessel adapted to admit a gasiform fluid in its unsubmerged portion and to expel said gasiform fluid throughout its submerged portion to form a film-like pad of the gasiform fluid on the outside surface of said frusto-conical portion substantially to eliminate friction of said mass with said chamber and uniformly to disperse said fluid throughout said reaction mass.

2. In an apparatus for contacting a gasiform fluid with a liquid, a rotatable chamber having a cylindrical portion adapted to admit a gaslform fluid and an upwardly converging frusto-conical portion adapted when submerged in a liquid uniformly to expel said fluid therein and to forms. film-like 'pad of the gasiform fluid between said frusto-conlcai portion and said liquid.

3. An apparatus for contacting a gasiform fluid with a liquid comprising in combination a vessel containing a liquid, a partially submerged rotatable body having an unsubmerged gasiform fluid admission passage positioned therein and an upwardly converging frusto-conical portion upon the outer surfaces of which portion a film-like pad of gasii'ormfluid forms, the walls of said body being perforated substantially throughout their entire area and agitating meansvbetween said body and said vessel.

4. An apparatus for contacting a gasiform fluid with a liquid comprising in combination a reaction vessel containing a reaction mass, a rotate able'chamber having an unsubmerged gasiform fluid admission passage positioned therein and an upwardly converging frusto-conical portion upon the outer surfaces of which portion a film-like pad of gasiform fluid forms, the walls of said chamher being perforated substantially throughout their entire area and means amxed to said vessel to hinder smooth circular action of said mass, said chamber being adapted when partially submerged to expel gasiform fluid through the walls of its submerged portion.

5. An apparatus for contacting a gasiform fluid with a liquid comprising in combination a reaction vessel containing a reaction mass, a r0ta table chamber having an unsubmerged gasiform fluid admission passage positioned therein and having an upwardly converging frusto-conical portion upon the outer surfaces of which portion a film-like pad of gasiform fluid forms, the walls of said chamber being perforated substantially throughout their entire area and baffles to agitate said mass, said chamber being so shaped that when partially submerged it is adapted to expel gasiform fluid evenly and uniformly throughout different zones of said mass to accommodate differences in hydrostatic pressure.

6. An apparatus for contacting a gasiform fluid with a liquid comprising in combination a reaction vessel containing a reaction mass, an upper and lower framework carrying spaced apart bailies, and a perforated chamber having an unsubmerged gasiform fluid admission passage and an upwardly converging frusto-conical portion upon the outer surfaces of which portion a filmlike pad of gasiform fluid forms partially submerged in and adapted to expel fluid uniformly throughout said mass, the walls of said'chamber being perforated substantially throughout their entire area.

JAMES LOCKEY. 

